Favored Of God

I read in the Bible of men and women favored by God, and wonder what that would mean in the present-day sense. The people I read about were Noah, Abraham, Caleb, Joseph, Mary, Ruth, Esther, and others. When I examined what was mentioned about their lives, some common character traits came to light. They were obedient as they fully followed God, they had integrity, they had humble and servant hearts (although the men were leaders), and they didn’t separate God from their regular life and work. In other words, they were the same inside the temple as they were outside.

Can people be favored in today’s world? I got to thinking about this possibility as God has recently been pouring His blessings about me and our organization. I have sense enough to recognize that something bigger than us is at work. Almost everyone we talk to is offering us help and materials to get our projects up and running. Two years ago we were constantly met with failures. So what is the difference? We finally got some sort of unity among ourselves, and cried out for His plan and help. We were doing some things wrong, maybe not wrong, but not how He wanted us to do them. Those were our plans, not His. So we languished until we got desperate enough to find out what was wrong and what He wanted.

I have learned some good lessons. Do not take short-cuts or easy fixes. Try to honor others opinions and needs above me winning my own way. Faith is essential. Don’t think something is too big if God is in it. Caleb said the children of Israel could win over the giants in the Promised Land if God was with them when most of the other spies said they didn’t have a chance. Think big if God is thinking big. Don’t be arrogant, it’s His work and not your expertise that is showing. If there are road bumps in life, remain loyal to God. Don’t grumble and want to run away. Stick to the course.

An obvious question would be “Does God have favorites?” Yes and no. Yes, He shows more favor to the person who is working toward advancing the kingdom of heaven by carrying out His plans and is faithful. And no, everyone has a shot at being His favored, but aren’t willing to to it His way and by His principles. But they are still winners just by being His child.